Control mechanism for wringers



Nov. 27, 1928.

H. J. CRINER CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WRINGERS Filed Sept. 15. 1927 FIG. 4

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

i a a a:

FIG. 5

M INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,693,270 PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY J. CRINER, OF DAVENPOR'L IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO A. G. BUSH, OI DAVENPORT, IOWA.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WRI'NGERS.

Application filed september 15, 1927. Serial No. 219,705.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for adjusting the position'of a clothes wringer mounted upon a washing machine or other appliance and for locking the wringer in its adjusted position; also for automatically locking the driving mechanism out of gear while the wringer is being moved from one position to another.

The objects of my invention are: p

1. To provide a simple, efficient, economical and easily operated and assembled mechanism to lock a wringer in a fixed position upon its supporting column;

2. To provide simplified means for automatically locking a swinging wringer out of gear while swinging it from one position to another;

3. To provide means for looking a swinging wringer in a fixed position whenever it is in gear;

4. To provide means for locking a swinging wringer in fixed position which cannot be operated to unlock the wringer so long as the driving mechanism is in gear.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in .the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my gear housin and control apparatus on the line 1-1 of Figure 3; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional detail of my housing showing a part of the' clutch therein, with the'horizontal gear sleeve broken away, the housing being in section on the line 22 of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of my housing on the line 33 of Fig. 1, but shows the locking bar and part of the control lever, the gear shifting arm and the drive shaft, 4, in solid lines; Fig. 4 is a detail=showing a top view of the shift lever; Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing the application of the housing to the supporting column.

Similarv numbers refer to similar throughout the several views.

My appliance comprises a housing, 2, substantially in the well-known form which is in common use and which has a projecting cylindrical portion, 2", at the lower end thereof, with a flange portion, 2', formed integral therewith. My device may be mounted upon the ordinary supporting column, 1, which carries a vertical drive shaft, the extended cylindrical portion, 2", of the housing seating within the upper end of the supparts porting column, 1, and the flange, 2, resting upon a corresponding flange formed upon the up er end of the supporting column, 1.

plurality of openings, 17", are formed in the flange at the top of the supporting column, 1, with corresponding openings, 17 formed in the flange, 2, of the housing.

A locking bar, 17 is slidably mounted in the housing, 2, with a coiled tension spring, 19, mounted upon the lower end thereof bearing against a suitable pin or detent, 19', and acting to force the locking bar, 17, downward into the openings, 17 and 17".

A control lever, 11, has one end secured to the upper end of the locking bar, 17, by a pin, 18, or other suitable means. A shift arm, 15, is united to the lever, 11, and extends downwardly through an opening, 15, in the top of the housing into the housing, and its lower end extends between a pair of flanges, 9 and 9, formed upon the sleeve. 10. to which the bevel gears, 7 and 8, are splined or otherwise suitably secured.

The control handle normally rests in the position shown in Figure 3 and is detained in its normal position by the head of a pin, 13, secured to the control lever near the middle thereof, the head of said pin, 13, resting in the hollows, 14, formed in the top of the lugs or shoulders, 14.- and 14, which are formed integral with the upper portion, 3, of the housing 2. The housing, 2. is preferably formed with its upper port-ion, 3, secured thereto by stud bolts, 3', for convenience of assembly, but may be formed in one piece or the form thereof may be varied as desired to suit the requirements of each particular case.

The shaft, 6,,of the drive roll of the wringer is mounted in the center of the hous ing, 2, and the sleeve, 10, is slidably mounted thereon so that when the handle, 12, of the control lever, 11, is moved to the right as shown in Figure 1, the bevel gear, 7, will mesh with the bevel gear, 5, mounted upon the upper end of the drive shaft, 4, and when the handle, 12, is moved to the left, the bevel gear, 8, will mesh with said bevel gear, 5. When the handle, 12, is in its middle position, it may be moved downward-1y between. the lugs, 14 and 14, and when so moved, the downwardly projecting portion of the lever, 11, will fulcrum upon the edge of the housing adjacent the rear of the opening, 15. When the handle, 12, is moved downwardly using the portion designated as a fulcrum, it Wlll. lift the rear end of the control lever, 11, thus raising the locking bar, 17, so that the lower end thereof will clear the openings, 17",1n the flange of the supporting column, 1, and permit the wringer to be swung around upon the supporting column. A plurality of openings, 17 are formed in the supporting column flange and their number and pos1t1on may be varied as desired.

It should be noted that the lower end of the shift arm, 15, in its normal position while secured between the flanges, 9 and 9', does not extend downwardly clear to the sleeve, 10, there being sufficient clearance to permit the shift arm, 15, to move downward as far as necessaryin raising the locking bar, 17, sufficiently to clear the openings, 17 in the flange and supporting column.

It is obvious that the form and proportions of my device may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a wringer control mechanism, the combination with a supporting column, of a housing revolubly mountable thereon, a looking bar slidably mounted within the housing, a control lever having one end united to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a slot formed in the top of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever and extending downwardly through the slot into the housing, and means within the housing controllable by the shift arm for throwing the wringer into and out of gear. 2. In a wringer control mechanism, the .combination with a. flanged supporting column having openings formed in the flange, of a housing revolubly mountable thereon, a locking bar slidably mounted within the housing adapted to enter the flange openings and be thus engaged by the flange, a'control lever having one end united to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a slot formed in the top of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever and extending downwardly through the slot into the housing, and means within the housing controllable by the shift arm for throwing the wringer into and out of gear.

3. In a wringer control mechanism, the combination with a flanged supporting column having openings formed in the flange, of a housing revolubly mountable thereon, a locking bar slidably and pivotally mounted within the housing adapted to enter the flange openings and be'thus engaged by the flange, a control lever having one end united to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon-the housing, a slot formed in the top of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever and extending downwardly through the slot into the housing, and means within the housing controllable by the shift arm for throwing the wringer into and out of ear. g 4. In a wringer control mechanism, the combination with a flanged supporting col umn having openings formed in the flange, of a housing revolubly mountable thereon, a locking bar slidably mounted within the housing adapted to enter the flange openings and be thus engaged by the flange, a control lever having one end united to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a slot formed in the top of the housing, a shift arm unitedto the control lever and extending downwardly through the slot .into the housing, means within the housing controllable by the shift arm for throwing the wringer into and out of gear, and means united to the housing to lock the shift lever against lateral movement when the locking bar is disengaged from the flange.

5. In a wringer control mechanism, the combination with a flanged supporting column having openings formed in the flange, of a housing revolubly mountable thereon, a locking bar slidably mounted within the housing adapted to enter the flange openings and be thus engaged by the flange, a control lever having one end united to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a slot formed in the top of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever and extending downwardly through the slot into the housing. means within the housing controllable by the shift arm for throwing the wringer into and out of gear, and means united to the housing to lock the shift lever against downward movement when the wringer is in gear.

6. A .control mechanism comprising a flanged supporting column having a drive shaft mounted therein and carrying a drive gear, a gear housing and wringer support revolubly mounted thereon, openings in the flange, a locking bar slidingly mounted and rotatable in the housing having its lower end adapted to enter any of the flange openings when registering therewith, a cont-r01 lever pivoted to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a drive-roll shaft mounted in the housing, a doubly flanged sleeve slidingly mounted upon the housing and between the sleeve flanges, de-

tents united to the housing on both sides of the shift lever, and locking same against a lateral movement when in neutral position.

7. A control mechanism comprising a flanged supporting column having a drive shaft mounted therein and carrying a drive gear, a gear housing and'wringef support revolubly mounted thereon, openings in the flange, a locking bar slidingly mounted and rotatable in the housing having its lower end adapted to enter any of the flange openings when registering therewith. a control lever pivoted to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a driveroll. shaft mounted in the housing, a doubly flanged sleeve slidingly mounted upon the roll shaft within the housing and carrying driven gears at the opposite ends thereof, a

' flanged supporting column having a drive shaft mounted therein and carrying a drive gear, a gear housing and wringer support revolubly mounted thereon, openings in the flange. a locking bar slidingly mounted and rotatable in the housing having its lower end adapted to enter any of the flange openings when registering therewith, a control lever pivoted to the upper end of the locking bar and'fulcrumed upon the top of the housing, a drive-roll shaft mounted in the housing, a doubly flanged sleeve slidingly mountper part of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever extending through the slot into the housing and between the sleeve flanges, detents united to the housing on both sides of the shift lever, and locking same against a lateral movement when in neutral position.

9. A control mechanism comprising a flanged supporting column having a drive shaft mounted therein and carrying a drive gear, a gear housing and wringer support revolubly mounted thereon, openings in the flange, a locking bar slidingly mounted and rotatable in the housing having its lower end adapted to enter any of the flange openings when registering therewith, a control lever pivoted to the upper end of the locking bar and fulcrumed upon the housing, a driveroll shaft mounted in the housing, a doubly flanged sleeve slidingly mounted upon the roll shaft within the housing and carrying driven gears at the opposite ends thereof, a longitudinal slot in the upper part of the housing, a shift arm united to the control lever extending through the slot into the housing and between the sleeve flanges, and detents united to the housing on both sides of the shift lever.

In testimony whereof he aflixes his signature.

HARRY J. CRINER. 

